Winter Orchard Prep: Protecting Your Trees for a Healthy Spring
As the growing season winds down, winter orchard care is key to ensuring your trees wake up healthy and productive in the spring. Proper winter prep reduces pests and disease, protects roots and bark, and sets the stage for strong growth next year.
Read on for a comprehensive checklist to get your orchard ready!
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Apply Compost & Mulch Under Trees
By applying compost and mulch under the trees, you’re adding beneficial organisms to the soil, preserving soil moisture and providing a future nutrient source by increasing your organic matter. The mulching also helps to cover any disease pathogens that may be overwintering in fallen leaves or fruit and will help to insulate the trees’ roots to keep them from waking up too early and being exposed to early spring frosts.
Calendar Tip: November through early December is the ideal time to apply compost and mulch so it settles before heavy snow or frost.
Paint Trees White for Winter Sun Protection
In areas where winter temperatures lows get below 20 degrees painting the trunk of the tree with white latex paint will help to prevent damage to the bark. During freezing winter periods, when the sun hits the southern side of the tree, it causes the bark to warm, while the north side remains below freezing. This temperature difference can cause splitting of the bark, which creates new openings for the tree to be exposed to infections and diseases. For additional benefit of deterring insects, add diatomaceous earth to the paint to target insects like ants and earwigs.
Calendar Tip: Late fall is perfect for painting trunks after leaves have dropped and before harsh freeze-thaw cycles begin.
Put Guards On Tree Trunks
To prevent animals, like rabbits and voles, from chewing on the bark during the winter, apply a guard made of metal hardware cloth around the base of the tree. Make sure it’s at least 18 inches tall and in snowy areas make sure to make the guard tall enough to cover the top of the snow height, as in winter time this will become the new ground level. This will prevent trunk damage which could “girdle” and kill the tree if the bark is eaten all the way around.
Calendar Tip: Install guards by late November to protect trees before deep snow or wildlife pressure peaks.
Apply a Final Holistic Spray
Apply one final holistic spray of neem oil, liquid fish, beneficial microbes and kelp to cover the bark and leaves with nutrients and help to smother any pests before overwintering. Ideally time your spray for when the tree still has about 75% of the leaves. Also target the ground around the base of the trees and any fallen leaves to cover with beneficial microbes and help to break down any pathogens.
Calendar Tip: Schedule this spray in mid to late fall, before most leaves drop, to maximize coverage and nutrient uptake.
Clean Up Fallen Fruit
Be sure to pick up and remove any damaged or fallen fruit underneath the trees, as they can serve as hosts for pests and diseases to stay in the orchard and return to infect the trees the following spring. By cleaning up the orchard floor insects lay eggs inside of the damaged fruits and removing them from future populations, you are practicing the “cultural” aspect of Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
Calendar Tip: Ongoing cleanup through November helps reduce overwintering pests and disease pressure.
Spray Beneficial Nematodes (if Needed)
If you had a particularly bad insect infestation this year you can consider a fall spray of beneficial nematodes to your orchard. Beneficial nematodes are live microscopic organisms (available through Arbico Organics) that occur naturally in soil throughout the world and feed on damaging insects in the orchard. After being applied to the soil, the nematodes locate pests and enter through various body openings or directly through the body wall. Once inside, the nematodes produce bacteria that is injected into the pest's blood. These can be effective against peach tree borers, Japanese beetles, plum curculio, codling moth, leafminers, grape root borer and many more. Be sure to select the appropriate species for the insect you are targeting.
Calendar Tip: Apply in late fall when soil temperatures are above 50°F to ensure nematode survival.
Provide Pollinator & Beneficial Insect Habitat (Make a Bug Snug or Brush Pile)
Orchards are essential spaces for supporting urban wildlife of all types. Before you clean up the orchard for the winter, make sure that you’re taking the right steps to provide habitat spaces for the whole ecosystem: make a brush pile with fallen branches, make a bee hotel, leave piles of leaves, as well as patches of bare ground. For more ideas, check out our workshop on supporting pollinators!
Calendar Tip: Build winter habitat in November to give pollinators and beneficial insects a safe place to overwinter.
Winter Prep Wrap-Up
By following these steps, your orchard will be protected from pests, disease, and extreme winter conditions. Healthy trees in winter mean a productive orchard in spring. Take the time now to prepare, and your orchard will reward you with bountiful fruit and thriving pollinators next season!